Facilitation of real-time payment network transactions

ABSTRACT

A request for payment message is received. The message includes transaction data. A transaction identifier is generated. The transaction data is stored in association with the transaction identifier. The transaction identifier is transmitted to an acquirer bank. A request to retrieve data is received from a payer&#39;s bank. The request to retrieve data includes the transaction identifier. At least some of the transaction data is transmitted to the payer&#39;s bank. A confirmation is received from the payer&#39;s bank. The confirmation indicates that a real-time payment has been made in accordance with the request for payment message.

BACKGROUND

Real-time payment networks are in operation in a number of differentcountries around the world. These networks have a centralinfrastructure, which handles clearing and posting of paymenttransactions within seconds to bank accounts of payment transactionbeneficiaries. Examples of existing real-time payment networks includeUPI/IMPS in India, Zengin in Japan, FPS in the United Kingdom and theRTP network from TCH in the United States.

According to a manner of operating a real-time payment network, thepayer in the transaction transmits a Request for Payment message toinitiate a payment transaction. The message enables immediate electronicdelivery of bill presentment details, payment due date, and othertransaction details. The recipient of the message may approve or rejectthe request before the payment is implemented. Upon approval, payment ismade immediately to the recipient.

This mode of operation, however, is not present in all real-time paymentnetworks. In networks where such a Request for Payment functionality ispresent, the functionality may be accessed via a proprietary API(application program interface). Even real-time payment networks withRequest for Payment functionality do not support use of that functionfor purchase transactions.

The present inventors have now recognized an opportunity to leveragereal-time payment networks by facilitating payment through such networkswith strong security for P2M (person-to-merchant), P2P(person-to-person) and other applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of some embodiments of the present disclosure,and the manner in which the same are accomplished, will become morereadily apparent upon consideration of the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate preferred and example embodiments and which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a payment system according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are respectively block diagram illustrations ofcomputer systems that may play a role in the payment system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of an example of a mobile devicethat may be used in connection with the payment system of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6A and 6B together form a flow chart that illustrates a processthat may be performed in the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

In general, and for the purpose of introducing concepts of embodimentsof the present disclosure, a payments computer serves as a trustedrepository of transaction data to facilitate payment transactions via areal-time payment network. The bank (acquirer) for a payment requestor(party desiring to receive a payment), provides transaction data to thepayments computer. The payments computer generates a unique transactionidentifier, provides it to the acquirer, and stores the transaction datain association with the transaction data. The acquirer provides thetransaction identifier to the payment requestor. Using a standardmessage format, the payment requestor submits the transaction identifierin a request for payment to the payer's bank. The payer's bankauthenticates the payer and messages the payments computer with thetransaction identifier to retrieve the transaction data. Based on thetransaction data, the payer's bank presents transaction details to thepayer for confirmation, and then initiates a transaction in a real-timepayment network to credit the account of the payment requestor.

APIs are made available to support communication by other parties withthe payments computer.

This payment technique may be implemented quickly and at low cost, whileminimizing enrollment activities required of acquirer banks. In a P2Mapplication, for instance, the merchant may receive payment for apurchase transaction in real time, without any delay due to clearing.Chargebacks and fraud are minimized because the payer approves everytransaction.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a payment system 100 according to someembodiments.

A central component of the payment system 100 is a payments computer102, which is described in detail below. For the time being, it will bementioned that the payments computer 102 is a trusted repository oftransaction data and facilitates use of a real-time payment network 104for P2M, P2P, bill payment and other applications. The real-time paymentnetwork 104 need not be different from existing real-time paymentnetworks, as referred to above.

The payment system 100 is illustrated in connection with a typicaltransaction that it handles. For that transaction, a payer's bank 106and an acquirer bank 108 are, as will be seen, in communication with thepayments computer 102. The payer for the illustrated transaction isindicated at 110. The payer 110 is shown operating a payer's device 112.The payer's device 112 may, but need not, be a mobile device such as asmartphone. The payment requestor for the transaction is represented atblock 114. The payer's device 112 is in communication, at certain times,with the payment requestor 114 and the payer's bank 106. The paymentrequestor 114 is in communication, at certain times, with the acquirer108 and the payer's bank 106, and also may receive communications fromthe payments computer 102. The payer's bank 106 and the acquirer 108 areassumed to have data connections with the real-time payment network 104.

Each block in FIG. 1 that represents an entity should also be understoodto represent one or more computers operated by or on behalf of thatentity.

As noted above, the payment system 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1 in thecontext of a single transaction. However, in a practical embodiment ofthe payment system 100, it may handle numerous transactions, includingnumerous simultaneous transactions. The system 100 may include manyother payer's banks and acquirers besides those shown in FIG. 1 Manypayment requestors may participate in the payment system 100, as maymany payers, each of whom may do so via one or more payer's devicesbelonging to the payer.

An example of operation of the payment system 100 will be describedbelow, particularly with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. First, though,there will be a further description of some components of the paymentsystem 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an example embodiment of thepayments computer 102 shown in FIG. 1. The payments computer 102 may, inits hardware aspects, resemble a typical mainframe or server computer,but may be controlled by software to cause it to function as describedherein.

Referring to FIG. 2, the payments computer 102 may include a computerprocessor 200 operatively coupled to a communication device 201, astorage device 204, an input device 206 and an output device 208. Thecommunications device 201, the storage device 204, the input device 206and the output device 208 may all be in communication with the processor200.

The computer processor 200 may be constituted by one or more processors.Processor 200 operates to execute processor-executable steps, containedin program instructions described below, so as to control the paymentscomputer 102 to provide desired functionality.

Communication device 201 may be used to facilitate communication with,for example, other devices such as computers operated by or on behalf ofacquirers and payer's banks. Communication device 201 may comprisenumerous communication ports (not separately shown), to allow thepayments computer 102 to communicate simultaneously with a considerablenumber of other computers, and/or to simultaneously handle a number ofdifferent requests from one other computer.

Input device 206 may comprise one or more of any type of peripheraldevice typically used to input data into a computer. For example, theinput device 206 may include a keyboard and a mouse. Output device 208may comprise, for example, a display and/or a printer.

Storage device 204 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., harddisk drives), optical storage devices such as CDs and/or DVDs, and/orsemiconductor memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM) devicesand Read Only Memory (ROM) devices, as well as so-called flash memory.Any one or more of such information storage devices may be considered tobe a computer-readable storage medium or a computer usable medium or amemory.

Storage device 204 stores one or more programs for controlling processor200. The programs comprise program instructions (which may be referredto as computer readable program code means) that containprocessor-executable process steps of the payments computer 102,executed by the processor 200 to cause the payments computer 102 tofunction as described herein.

The programs may include one or more conventional operating systems (notshown) that control the processor 200 so as to manage and coordinateactivities and sharing of resources in the payments computer 102, and toserve as a host for application programs (described below) that run onthe payments computer 102.

The storage device 204 may also store a software interface 210 thatfacilitates communication between the payments computer 102 andcomputers operated by or for acquirers. The storage device 204 may inaddition store a software interface 212 that facilitates communicationbetween the payments computer 102 and computers operated by or forpayers' banks. Still further, the storage device 204 may store asoftware interface 214 that facilitates communication from the paymentscomputer 102 to payment requestors.

The programs stored in the storage device 204 may also include, forexample, a request handling application program 216. The requesthandling application program 216 controls the processor 200 such thatthe payments computer 102 handles, in a manner described below, requestsfrom acquirers and payers' banks in connection with desired real timepayments via the real-time payment network 104 (FIG. 1).

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the storage device 204 may also store,and the payments computer 102 may also execute, other programs, whichare not shown. For example, such programs may include communicationssoftware and a reporting application. The latter program may respond torequests from system administrators for reports on the activitiesperformed by the payments computer 102. The other programs may alsoinclude, e.g., device drivers, database management software, etc.

Moreover, the storage device 204 may store a database 218 of transactiondata held by the payments computer 102 for the purpose of facilitatingreal time payment transactions.

The storage device 204 may also store one or more other databases 220needed for operation of the payments computer 102.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates an example embodiment of acomputer system 302 operated by or for the payer's bank 106 shown inFIG. 1. The computer system 302 will hereinafter be referred to as the“payer's bank computer.”

The payer's bank computer 302 may have the same type of architecture andmay feature the same types of components as discussed above inconnection with FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 3, the payer's bank computer302 may include a computer processor 300 operatively coupled to acommunication device 301, a storage device 304, an input device 306 andan output device 308. The communications device 301, the storage device304, the input device 306 and the output device 308 may all be incommunication with the processor 300.

Storage device 304 stores one or more programs for controlling processor300. The programs comprise program instructions (which may be referredto as computer readable program code means) that containprocessor-executable process steps of the payer's bank computer 302,executed by the processor 300 to cause the payer's bank computer 302 tofunction as described herein.

The programs may include one or more conventional operating systems (notshown) that control the processor 300 so as to manage and coordinateactivities and sharing of resources in the payer's bank computer 302,and to serve as a host for application programs (described below) thatrun on the payer's bank computer 302.

The storage device 304 may also store a software interface 310 thatfacilitates communication between the payer's bank computer 302 and thepayments computer 102. The storage device 304 may in addition store asoftware interface 312 that facilitates communication between thepayer's bank computer 302 and the real-time payment network 104. Stillfurther, the storage device 304 may store a software interface 314 thatfacilitates communication from the payer's bank computer 302 to devicesoperated by users/payers.

The programs stored in the storage device 304 may also include, forexample, a transaction handling application program 316. The transactionhandling application program 316 program the processor 300 such that thepayer's bank computer 302 handles, in a manner described below, paymenttransactions requested by users who have accounts at the payer's bank106 (FIG. 1).

Continuing to refer to FIG. 3, the storage device 304 may also store,and the payer's bank computer 302 may also execute, other programs,which are not shown. For example, such programs may includecommunications software and a reporting application. The latter programmay respond to requests from system administrators for reports on theactivities performed by the payer's bank computer 302. The otherprograms may also include, e.g., device drivers, database managementsoftware, website hosting software, etc.

Moreover, the storage device 304 may store one or more databases 318needed for operation of the payer's bank computer 302.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates an example embodiment of acomputer system 402 operated by or for the acquirer 108 shown in FIG. 1.The computer system 402 will hereinafter be referred to as the “acquirercomputer.” The acquirer computer 402 may have the same type ofarchitecture and may feature the same types of components as discussedabove in connection with FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 4, the acquirercomputer 402 may include a computer processor 400 operatively coupled toa communication device 401, a storage device 404, an input device 406and an output device 408. The communications device 401, the storagedevice 404, the input device 406 and the output device 408 may all be incommunication with the processor 400.

Storage device 404 stores one or more programs for controlling processor400. The programs comprise program instructions (which may be referredto as computer readable program code means) that containprocessor-executable process steps of the acquirer computer 402,executed by the processor 400 to cause the acquirer computer 402 tofunction as described herein.

The programs may include one or more conventional operating systems (notshown) that control the processor 400 so as to manage and coordinateactivities and sharing of resources in the acquirer computer 402, and toserve as a host for application programs (described below) that run onthe acquirer computer 402.

The storage device 404 may also store a software interface 410 thatfacilitates communication between the acquirer computer 402 and thepayments computer 102. The storage device 404 may in addition store asoftware interface 412 that facilitates communication between theacquirer computer 402 and devices operated by payment requestors.

The programs stored in the storage device 404 may also include, forexample, a transaction handling application program 414. The transactionhandling application program 414 controls the processor 400 such thatthe acquirer computer 402 handles, in a manner described below, paymenttransactions requested by payment requestors who have bankingrelationships with the acquirer 108 (FIG. 1).

Continuing to refer to FIG. 4, the storage device 404 may also store,and the acquirer computer 402 may also execute, other programs, whichare not shown. For example, such programs may include communicationssoftware and a reporting application. The latter program may respond torequests from system administrators for reports on the activitiesperformed by the acquirer computer 402. The other programs may alsoinclude, e.g., device drivers, database management software, websitehosting software, etc.

Moreover, the storage device 404 may store one or more databases 416needed for operation of the acquirer computer 402.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of an example embodiment of amobile device 500 that may be used as the payer's device 112 shown inFIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, the mobile device 500 may include a housing 503. Inmany embodiments, the front of the housing 503 is predominantlyconstituted by a touchscreen (not separately shown), which is a keyelement of the user interface 504 of the mobile device 500.

The mobile device 500 further includes a mobile processor/controlcircuit 506, which is contained within the housing 503. Also included inthe mobile device 500 is a storage/memory device or devices (referencenumeral 508). The storage/memory devices 508 are in communication withthe processor/control circuit 506 and may contain program instructionsto control the processor/control circuit 506 to manage and performvarious functions of the mobile device 500. As is well-known, a devicesuch as mobile device 500 may function as what is in effect apocket-sized personal computer (assuming for example that the mobiledevice is a smartphone), via programming with a number of applicationprograms, or “apps,” as well as a mobile operating system (OS). (Theapps are represented at block 510 in FIG. 5, and may, along with otherprograms, in practice be stored in block 508, to program theprocessor/control circuit 506.)

Because it may be particularly relevant to the subject matter of thisdisclosure, one of the apps—namely a mobile browser—is represented inthe drawing as block 512, separate from the other apps 510. The mobilebrowser 512 may function in a generally conventional manner to allow themobile device 500 to access resources via the internet.

As is typical for mobile devices, the mobile device 500 may includemobile communications functions as represented by block 514. The mobilecommunications functions 514 may include voice and data communicationsvia a mobile communication network with which the mobile device 500 isregistered.

From the foregoing discussion, it will be appreciated that the blocksdepicted in FIG. 5 as components of the mobile device 500 may in effectoverlap with each other, and/or there may be functional connectionsamong the blocks which are not explicitly shown in the drawing. It mayalso be assumed that, like a typical smartphone, the mobile device 500may include a rechargeable battery (not shown) that is contained withinthe housing 503 and that provides electrical power to the activecomponents of the mobile device 500.

It has been posited that the mobile device 500 may be embodied as asmartphone, but this assumption is not intended to be limiting, asmobile device 500 may alternatively, in at least some cases, beconstituted by a tablet computer or by other types of mobile computingdevices.

FIGS. 6A and 6B together form a flow chart that illustrates an exampleof a process that may be performed in the payment system 100 of FIG. 1,according to aspects of the present disclosure.

According to one use case, the payment requestor 114 (FIG. 1) may be ane-commerce merchant, and the process of FIGS. 6A and 6B may entail apayment to consummate an online purchase transaction. The ensuingdiscussion of FIGS. 6A and 6B will proceed in accordance with this usecase, without limitation, and other use cases will be discussedfollowing the discussion of FIGS. 6A and 6B.

The ensuing discussion assumes that the merchant/payment requestor andthe acquirer have been enrolled and brought “on board” to the paymentsystem 100. The onboarding process may include obtaining the followinginformation: merchant name, acquirer ID, merchant ID, the bank accountnumber and bank routing number for either or both of the merchant's bankaccount and the acquirer bank account, along with any other informationrequired for processing in the real-time payment network 104.

At 602 in FIG. 6A, the user/payer 110 operates the payer's device 112 toaccess an e-commerce website maintained by or for the payment requestor114. (Alternatively, communication between the payer's device 112 andthe merchant website may be “in app” rather than via browser.) As partof the payer's access to the e-commerce website, the payer engages inonline shopping and selects one or more items available for purchasethrough the e-commerce website. At 604, the payer 110 elects to enter acheckout phase of the online shopping session, so as to complete thepurchase of the selected items. At 606, the payer 110 indicates to thepayment requestor 114 that the payer 110 wishes to initiate the paymentportion of the checkout process.

In response to this indication from the payer 110, and as represented atblock 608 in FIG. 6A, the payment requestor 114 transmits a “request forpayment” message to the acquirer 108. The message may include an orderID, the transaction amount, the merchant ID and the merchant name. Thisinformation may be referred to as “transaction data”. It may be assumedthat the acquirer 108 receives this message.

Next, as indicated at block 610, the acquirer 108 transmits a requestfor payment message to the payments computer 102. The message may betransmitted via a “submit RFP” API that the payment computer 102 hasmade available for acquirers. The message sent via the submit RFP APImay again include the order ID, the transaction amount, the merchant IDand the merchant name. It may be assumed that the payments computer 102receives this message.

At block 612, the payments computer 102 may generate a uniquetransaction identifier for the RFP submitted by the acquirer 108 atblock 610. In some embodiments, the transaction identifier may be an18-character alphanumeric string.

At block 614, the payments computer 102 may store the transaction datain the transaction database 218 (FIG. 2) in association with/indexed bythe transaction identifier generated at block 612. The payments computer102 may also use the merchant ID to look up the bank account number forthe merchant/payment requestor (or for the merchant's acquirer bank);the payment computer 102 may store the bank account number as part ofthe transaction data.

At block 616, the payments computer 102 transmits the transactionidentifier (generated at block 612) to the acquirer 108. It may beassumed that the acquirer 108 receives the transaction identifier.

At block 618, the acquirer 108 transmits the transaction identifier tothe payment requestor 114. It may be assumed that the payment requestor114 receives the transaction identifier.

At block 620, the payment requestor 114 submits a digital screen form tothe payer 110 to facilitate preparation of a Payment Request inaccordance with the well-known WC3 Payment Request API that has beenestablished by the standards organization WC3. The digital screen formincludes payment options for the payer 110 to select from. At block 622,the payer 110 selects an option to “pay by account”—i.e., via thepayer's bank account at the payer's bank 106.

At block 624, the payment requestor 114 transmits the WC3 PaymentRequest to the payer's bank 106. The WC3 Payment Request includes thetransaction identifier received by the payment requestor 114 at 618. Itmay be assumed that the payer's bank 106 receives the WC3 PaymentRequest.

At block 626, the payer 110/payer's device 112 is redirected to thepayer's bank 106 for authentication of the payer 110. The authenticationmay include, for example, biometric authentication and/or entry of a PIN(personal identification number), etc.

At block 628, the payer's bank 106 transmits a request to retrievetransaction data to the payments computer 102. The message may betransmitted via a “retrieve RFP” API that the payment computer 102 hasmade available for payers' banks. The message sent via the retrieve RFPAPI may include the transaction identifier received by the payer's bank106 at block 624. It may be assumed that the payments computer 102receives the retrieve RFP message.

Referring now to FIG. 6B, at block 630, the payments computer 102 maynow transmit some or all of the transaction data to the payer's bank106. The transaction data referred to in the previous sentence is thatwhich the payments computer had previously stored in association withthe transaction identifier now presented by the payer's bank 106. Inpreparing to transmit the transaction data to the payer's bank 106, thepayments computer may have retrieved the transaction data from thetransaction database 218 (FIG. 2), using the transaction identifierpresented by the payer's bank 106. The transaction data provided to thepayer's bank 106 at this step may include the bank accountnumber/routing number for the payment requestor 114 or the acquirer 108,as the case may be.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 6B, at block 632, the payer's bank 106 maytransmit some details regarding the transaction to the payer's device112. The transaction details transmitted to the payer's device 112 atthis step may be sufficient for the payer 110 to recognize and confirmthat the transaction referenced by the transaction details is the sametransaction the payer 110 opted to pay for at block 606 (FIG. 6A). Thetransaction details transmitted at this block 632 may also include anidentifier for the payer's bank account from which the payment is to bemade. It may be assumed that the payer's device 112 receives thetransaction details transmitted to it at this block 632.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 6B, at block 634, the payer 110 may interactwith the payer's device 112 to indicate that the payer 110 confirms thetransaction/payment and the funding bank account as presented to thepayer 110 at block 632. A message is transmitted from the payer's device112 to the payer's bank 106 to indicate that the payer 110 has confirmedthe transaction and the account. It may be assumed that the payer's bank106 receives this message.

The payer's bank 106 now proceeds with the requested payment. At block636, the payer's bank 106 debits the transaction amount from the payer'saccount. At block 638, the payer's bank sends an instruction to thereal-time payment network 104 to transfer the transaction amount to theaccount of the payment requestor 114 or the acquirer 108, as the casemay be, for the benefit of the payment requestor 114. With this process,the payment requestor may immediately receive the funds paid for theonline purchase transaction referred to at blocks 602-606 (FIG. 6A).

Continuing to refer to FIG. 6B, at block 640, the payer's bank maytransmit a payment confirmation message to the payments computer 102.This message may be transmitted via a “confirmation RFP” API that thepayments computer 102 has made available for payers' banks.

At block 642, the payer's bank 106 may transmit a payment confirmationmessage to the payment requestor 114. At this point, now that thepayment requestor 114 knows that the payment for the transaction hasoccurred, the e-commerce purchase transaction may be completed (block644). That is, the payment requestor 114 may inform the payer/user 110that payment has been accomplished and that the order is complete, andthe payment requestor 114 may proceed to fulfill the order.

At block 646, the real-time payment network 104 may send a paymenttransaction confirmation to the payer's bank 106.

In some embodiments, additional steps (shown in phantom in FIG. 6B) mayalso be performed to provide further confirmation of payment. Thus, atblock 648, the payments computer 102 may send a confirmation of paymentmessage to the acquirer 108. At block 650, the acquirer 108 may send aconfirmation of payment message to the payment requestor 114. Theconfirmation sent at block 648 may be transmitted via a “notificationRFP” API that the payments computer 102 has made available forcommunication with acquirers.

In the process of FIGS. 6A and 6B, APIs provided for bank communicationwith the payments computer 102 allow for easily established messagingpathways to support convenient access to a real-time payment network foruse in a P2M payment in support of an e-commerce transaction. If thereal-time payment network has no RFP function, the API based messagingaround the payments computer 102 effectively provides merchants,customers and their banks with RTP-based access to the fast-paymentcapabilities of the real-time payment network. Even if the real-timepayment network does have an RFP function, the process of FIGS. 6A and6B obviates the need for the acquirer and payer's bank to undergo thepossibly onerous process of integrating to the real-time paymentnetwork's proprietary RFP function.

Furthermore, with the process of FIGS. 6A and 6B, neither themerchant/payment requestor nor the acquirer bank ever has access to thepayer's bank account information thereby protecting the security of thatinformation. The real-time payment network also never receives thisinformation. User authentication for each transaction and userconfirmation of each transaction provide a high degree of security andhelp to minimize chargebacks and fraud.

Still further, the onboarding of the banks for this type of process maybe much more rapid than for other payment systems.

In addition, the advantages of a real-time payment network are madeapplicable to P2M and other transactions, without requiring either thepayer or the payment requestor to be enrolled members of the real-timepayment network.

The teachings of this disclosure have up to now been discussed in thecontext of a P2M ecommerce use case. As noted above, however, thecurrent disclosure also is applicable to a number of other use cases.For example, in one P2P use case, a service provider such as a providerof house-cleaning or landscaping services may be the paymentrequestor/payee and may present an invoice electronically to the payerfor services rendered. Once the payer selects a “pay invoice” option onthe payer's device, the process of FIGS. 6A-6B may be triggered fromstep 608 onward.

In another P2P use case, a remittance may be requested electronically bya remittance payee/payment requestor to the payer. Once the payerindicates that the remittance should occur, again steps 608 onward ofFIGS. 6A-6B may be triggered.

Business to business (B2B) use cases may also be implemented with avendor business/payment requestor submitting an invoice electronicallyto a business vendee/payer. Again payer approval of the invoice maylaunch steps 608 et al. of the process of FIGS. 6A-6B.

The process of FIGS. 6A-6B can also be applied to bill-pay use cases,including for example, payment of tax bills rendered by governmententities, payment of utility bills, mortgage bills, tuition bills, orother bill payment applications. The renderer of the bill/paymentrequestor may transmit the bill electronically to the payer, who thenapproves the bill to launch the process of FIGS. 6A-6B from step 608onward.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “computer” should beunderstood to encompass a single computer or two or more computers incommunication with each other.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “processor” shouldbe understood to encompass a single processor or two or more processorsin communication with each other.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “memory” should beunderstood to encompass a single memory or storage device or two or morememories or storage devices.

As used herein and in the appended claims, a “server” includes acomputer device or system that responds to numerous requests for servicefrom other devices.

The above descriptions and illustrations of processes herein should notbe considered to imply a fixed order for performing the process steps.Rather, the process steps may be performed in any order that ispracticable, including simultaneous performance of at least some stepsand/or omission of steps.

Although the present disclosure has been described in connection withspecific example embodiments, it should be understood that variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations apparent to those skilled in theart can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A method comprising: receiving, by a payments computer, a request forpayment message, said request for payment message including transactiondata; generating, by the payments computer, a transaction identifier;storing, by the payments computer, the received transaction data inassociation with the transaction identifier; transmitting, by thepayments computer, the transaction identifier to an acquirer bank;receiving, by the payments computer, from a payer's bank computer, arequest to retrieve data, the request to retrieve data including thetransaction identifier, the payer's bank computer different from thepayments computer, the request to retrieve data different from therequest for payment message; transmitting, by the payments computer, atleast some of the transaction data to the payer's bank computer; andreceiving, by the payments computer, from the payer's bank computer, aconfirmation that a real-time payment has been made in accordance withthe received request for payment message.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said transaction data included in the request for paymentmessage comprises at least one of (a) an order identifier; (b) atransaction amount; (c) a payment requestor identifier; and (d) apayment requestor name.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein saidtransaction data included in the request for payment message includesall of (a) the order identifier; (b) the transaction amount; (c) thepayment requestor identifier; and (d) the payment requestor name.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein a payment requestor's bank accountinformation is stored in association with the transaction identifier. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the payment requestor's bank accountinformation is transmitted to the payer's bank together with said atleast some of the transaction data.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereinsaid at least some of the transaction data includes (a) the orderidentifier; (b) the transaction amount; (c) the payment requestoridentifier; and (d) the payment requestor name.
 7. The method of claim3, wherein account information is stored in association with thetransaction identifier, said account information identifying an accountestablished by an acquirer bank for receiving real-time payments.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the account information is included in saidat least some transaction data.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: transmitting, to the acquirer bank, a confirmation that areal-time payment has been made in accordance with the received requestfor payment message.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the request forpayment message is received from the acquirer bank.
 11. A methodcomprising: receiving, by an acquirer bank computer, from a paymentrequestor, a request for payment message, said request for paymentmessage including transaction data; relaying the request for paymentmessage by the acquirer bank computer to a payments computer; receiving,by the acquirer bank computer, a transaction identifier from thepayments computer; and transmitting the transaction identifier by theacquirer bank computer to the payment requestor.
 12. The method of claim11, further comprising: receiving, on behalf of the payment requestor, areal-time payment with respect to the transaction represented by saidreceived transaction data.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein saidtransaction data included in the request for payment message comprisesat least one of (a) an order identifier; (b) a transaction amount; (c) apayment requestor identifier that identifies the payment requestor; and(d) a payment requestor name associated with the payment requestor. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein said transaction data included in therequest for payment message includes all of (a) the order identifier;(b) the transaction amount; (c) the payment requestor identifier; and(d) the payment requestor name.
 15. A method comprising: receiving, by apayer's bank computer, a payment request message from a paymentrequestor, the payment request message including a transactionidentifier; authenticating a payer; sending, by the payer's bankcomputer, a retrieve-data message to a payments computer, theretrieve-data message including the transaction identifier; receiving,by the payer's bank computer, transaction data from the paymentscomputer; transmitting, by the payer's bank computer, at least some ofthe transaction data to the authenticated payer; receiving, by thepayer's bank computer, a confirm-payment message from the payer;initiating, by the payer's bank computer, a payment in a real-timepayment system to benefit the payment requestor; and transmitting, bythe payer's bank computer, a payment confirmation message to the paymentrequestor.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the received transactiondata includes the payment requestor's bank account number.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the transmitted at least some of thetransaction data does not include the payment requestor's bank accountnumber.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the received transactiondata includes account information that identifies an account establishedby an acquirer bank for receiving real-time payments.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the transmitted at least some of the transaction datadoes not include the account information.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein said transaction data included in the payment request messagecomprises at least one of (a) an order identifier; (b) a transactionamount; (c) a payment requestor identifier that identifies the paymentrequestor; and (d) a payment requestor name associated with the paymentrequestor.